Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Croutes of Haddock
Ingredients
Directions
Place the haddock in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and let stand for 15 minutes.
Dry the haddock, remove skin and bones, and chop the fish finely.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the fish, and season well.
Stir in the eggs beaten with the milk and cook over gentle heat until stiff.
Add the parsley and pile the mixture on rounds of hot toast.
Serve very hot.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Parsley + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Haddock + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together764 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (haddock, egg, milk, pepper, butter):
- Parsleythe original
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Dillfits less well
- Cinnamonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against haddock, egg, milk, pepper, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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